Improvement in machines for cleaning and ditching rice-fields



trat attriti.

SAMUEL M. KING, 0E LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patel-1t No. 108,269, dated October 11, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT lN MACHINES FOR CLEANING AND DITCHING lRICE-FIELDS.

I, SAMUEL M. KING, ot' Lancaster', in the county of' Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in vMachines for Cleaning or Ditching the Trenches in Fields for the Gnltivation'ot' Rice, of which the following is a spccitication.

The object ot' my invention is'to supply a want greatly felt in the rice-lields; that is,`to provide a more speedy and easier way'of cleaning out o'r digging the ditches required, by machinery, instead of by hand, as heretofore performed, which is accomplished by means Vof a scoop, connected with a trough, and provided with a series of Scrapers to carry the debris upward'and backward, the same being on the side, by simply driv ing over the line of the ditch or trench.4

The accompanying drawing clearly shows my improved implement.

Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Figure 2, aplan view.

Figure 3, a longitudinal section.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, a brief reference to the drawing and letters marked thereon will suffice.

' Ina suitable frame having four wheels, th hind ones of which are rigidly attached to the axle, is placed the machinery, which' I will describe as follows:

A A represent two planks or timbers, which are set on edge, parallel lto each other, and extend from the axle ofthe li'ont wheels to that of the hind wheels.

Between these side pieces Athe box-trough B, with its jointed or hinged scoop (l, is placed.

rlhis trough B is hinged on the hind axle of thc wheels IV, as its fulcrum.

The axle also supports and operates a cog-wheel, It, which drives a pinion, Q, geared to another piuion, P, on the pulley-shaft, which, by the forward motion ofthe wheel, drives the chain-pulleys E.

These chains l and pulleys E are of the ordinary kind, and the chains F are provided with Scrapers G, at certain intervals, of such size as to adapt them to the width of the trough B.V They are also so arranged on the pulleys as to bring them successively into the back portion of the trough B, and follow close to the bottom ofthe sides as theyare carried by the endless chains, or an endless apron of blocks, or their equivalent. on spiked, cogged, or angled pulleys.

This trough has an opening in the bottom, for an inclined chute ordischaige-spout, D, on one or both sides ot' thc trough, near the hind wheels, of any desired size.

The trough is adjusted to any inclination, by means ofthe rods M, attached to the bottom toward theforward portion, and united centrally with a head for a screw-rod, K, which is supported in a vibrating crosspiece on supports D, aixed on the upper edge of the side pieces A. 1

This screw has a wheel-nut, It, by which the box or trough B is raised and lowered.

- Asimilar adjusting turning screw-rod and hinged clevis, H, is connected with the forward yportion of the scoop G, with a female screw cut in a pivoted crosshead on the extended bearings I, of" the front chainpulleys E, by which the Scoopor Shovel can be raised or adjusted.

N O show a seat and its supports for the driver.

The operation is readily understood.

For cleaning out the mud and debris of a ditch,'the team is brought to straddle the same, so as to have the ditch centrally between the wheels. The trough and scoop is lowered according to the nature of the work to be performed, and will cut out or clean out six inches deep, by moving the team in a line with the ditch. Y

The scoopwill collect the mudor soil, which the Scrapers will draw into the trough, and carry it up the inclined plane and backward 'to the offset in the bottom, where it drops onto the inclined chute or trough, and is discharged on the side, between the ditch and the wheels. These Scrapers will move in proportion with the speed of thc horses, andare calculated to carry all the scoop can gather, as fast as deposited thereon, in its forward motion.

rIhus, this vehicular ditchingmachine can be driven back and forth, or make any turns in following the trenches of moderate curves, until the ditch is cleaned out or dug ont to the desired depth.

I- am aware that endless chains and Scrapers are not new, and that digging-machines with scoops or shovels have been used; but I am not awa-re that any machine has ever been used that is mounted on wheels, and digs or cleans a trench by a continuous forward motion, as itA is drawn over the ground by horses, so as to adapt it for the rice-fields, to open or keep open the trenches used in the cultivation of rice.

What I claim as new, and desireVt-o secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

The adjustable scoop 0,"in combination with the trough B, screw-rod H, and wheel J, as described.

SAML. M. KING.

\Vit-nesses WM. B. WILEY, JACOB SIAUFFER. 

